New poll shows Obama pulling ahead of Hull (Illinois Senate)

[chiburb]

Looks like Hull's lack of candor re his ex-wife's order of protection may be hurting him. Also, see 2nd story following this snip and link for a column about Hull's failure to vote in 6 of the last 12 elections...

Snip:

The CBS2/Newsradio 780 poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, of likely voters has Obama leading Hull 27 percent to 25 percent.

Earlier this month, a similar poll also by SurveyUSA had Hull, a trader, with 29 percent, leading Obama, a state senator, and state Comptroller Dan Hynes by 10 points.

Hynes has dropped 1 point among likely voters -- those who say they are certain or probable to vote in the March 16 primary.

The latest statewide survey was conducted Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. A Senate debate Monday sparked wider coverage of Hull's controversial sealed divorce records. The day after the debate, Obama scored his highest daily numbers while Hull attracted fewer among those in that higher threshold who said they are certain to vote.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-poll26.html

Hull's record comes up a few votes short

Snip:

More than 105 million people cast votes in the 2000 presidential election to determine whether George W. Bush or Al Gore would lead our nation through what have proved to be four of the more difficult years in its recent history.

Blair Hull was not one of them. The big-spending Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate was out of town on business that Election Day and couldn't make it to the polls.

OK, you say. That kind of thing can happen to anybody.

Fair enough. But look further.

Hull moved to Chicago in 1980. He didn't register to vote here until Jan. 23, 1995.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/brown/cst-nws-brown26.html

[La_Serpiente]

1. I hope Obama does well in the primary

:thumbsup:

[mopinko]

2. hull has supported dem candidates financially

i'm really not sure who to support in this race. i had heard a lot of good things about obama, but would appreciate more info on his stand re:choice. there is nothing about it on his website, and did read something here that he is anti. pretty much a deal breaker for me.

i think hull is a little "nutty", which could be a good thing, but can also be used to paint him as something he is not. he talks the talk well, but does he walk the walk? dunno. this divorce thing should probably be his own business, unless there are similar things in his background. i would hate to be judged by the things i said and did to my ex.
just on principle, i kinda :puke: at the idea that it is a good thing that someone is independant because they spent part of their own pile of money to get elected. although fitzgerald actually was. (not that he wasn't a rethug, he was. but he was the old fashion kind that had SOME morals. hence his absence fromt he race.)

[chiburb]

3. Here it is, from Obama's website:

The Obama Record: Illinois needs a U.S. Senator who will fight to advance women's interests and oppose the GOP's reactionary agenda. Barack Obama has proven to be such a leader. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama has compiled a consistent record of promoting equal rights and protecting a woman's right to choose:

Defending Choice. Obama is committed to protecting a woman's right to choose and earned the endorsement of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council in his last race for the Illinois State Senate in 2002.
Expanding Insurance Coverage for Contraceptives. Obama voted for a groundbreaking law requiring insurance plans that already cover prescription drugs and devices to also cover all FDA-approved prescription contraceptives.
Closing the Gender Gap in Wages. Obama was a co-sponsor of the successful Equal Pay Act of 2003, which prohibits sex-discrimination in wages.

Helping Victims of Domestic Violence. Obama was the chief sponsor and architect of recently enacted legislation providing that victims of domestic or sexual violence may take time off work to seek medical care, counseling, and legal services, and to take steps to ensure their safety and the safety of others in their household.
Ensuring Equal Rights for Women. Obama is a co-sponsor of a joint resolution ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Road Ahead: In the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama will continue to fight for women and against the radical right agenda that would roll back or eliminate the right to choose:

Protecting the Right to Choose. Obama will oppose arbitrary and harmful restrictions on abortion, advocate for measures requiring health insurance providers to cover contraceptives, and fight to preserve access to Ru-486. Obama will seek to reverse the Global Gag Rule and to increase funding for women's health programs, both here and abroad.
Promoting Women's Health and Opportunity. Obama will support legislation to ensure equal pay for women, advocate for welfare reform that increases funding for childcare and encourages education and job training, and work to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover time spent addressing domestic violence and its effects.
Maintaining Fairness and Balance in Our Courts. Senator Obama will stand firm in resisting efforts to pack the federal courts with right-wing ideologues who seek to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Violence Against Women Act, and anti-discrimination laws.


© Copyright 2004, ObamaForIllinois.com

[mopinko]

4. must have a crappy search engine?

or maybe i was just stupid at the time. but when i searched for abortion, or choice, i got nuttin'.
thanks.

[Nailzberg]

9. Now if only Obama would vote in Springfield

Maria Pappas nailed him during the debates for voting "present" on six pro-choice bills in the assembly. Way to go take a stand, Barack.

[davsand]

5. All I can say is "WOW!"

Since the AFL-CIO endorsed Hynes, the thought has been there for me that this race was going to come down to the strength of the downstate labor organization -v- the minority voters. Given the split in labor over endorsements, (remember, AFSCME SEIU and IFT all endorsed Obama.) I've been optimistic for Obama, but this kind of data out of Chicago (even with that small sample) gives me a lot more hope.

I heard a rumor (NEVER got it confirmed!!!) that Blag had quietly put word out that his folks could support anyone they wanted as long as it wasn't Hynes. Again, I stress it isn't confirmed, but if you look at it, most of the top Blagojevich folks are backing someone OTHER than Hynes. I guess there was some residual feeling on Blag's part that Hynes and his folks didn't do quite enough for Blag when he was running.

All along, I've expected that Hull was going to siphon the white guy votes off from Hynes and leave the door open for Obama.

Obama's ads started this last week on TV and they are upbeat and quite good. Paul Simon's daughter Sheila endorsed Obama which may help a lot in some of the downstate areas like Carbondale, Springfield, Edwardsville, and Marion. Steve O'Neal (Sun Times columnist who just died) had indicated just before he died, that Paul Simon did intend to endorse Obama and passed away before he had the opportunity to do so.

I am really happy to see this kind of upward movement for Obama, but I can't feel too confident just yet... It is looking a lot better than it did in Jan.

I didn't see the debate down in Springfield, but from what I hear, Obama was all over Hull on the war issue. It was interesting, because the criticism was mostly directed at the fact that Hull claims now to have been anti war, yet did little about it at the time. Reports are that it was SO heated that Obama and Hull were still arguing about it for a full half hour after the debate ended.

I guess somebody nailed Obama on missing some votes on Anti-choice bills, so I guess Obama didn't come thru that debate completely unscathed... Obama IS supported strongly by the more liberal Dems--and I suppose it could hurt him, however, I've also heard him speak a couple times and his commitment to choice is clearly and loudly evident.

WOW! Thanks for putting this up!

Laura

[chiburb]

6. "Hull was going to siphon the white guy votes off from Hynes "

Didn't that help Carol get elected too? I know it helped Harold in Chicago in '83 (that Byrne and Daley split the white vote). Is history repeating itself?

[davsand]

13. I have to wonder about a repeat of history.

The "race" formula has worked before, and this could be a repeat. I do hope so because I really like Obama a lot.

Braun's race DID have an element of peeved female voters since Dixon (the multi term White Dem she knocked off in the primary) had managed to land on the wrong side of the entire Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill fiasco. As far as I know, nobody in this primary has really got the NOW crowd annoyed as much as Dixon did back then.

I dunno about the Byrne and Daley race--I'd been hearing an awful lot about Byrne that was not positive. I never DID figure out if it was just the fact that she was female or if she really DID that bad of a job as Mayor. I remember a joke making the rounds back then about her:

How is Jane Byrne not like the Panama Canal? The Panama Canal is just a busy Ditch...

When THAT kind of stuff is part of the vernacular it really indicates a large amount of disrespect for either the person or the job they've done. (Kinda like the Dubya jokes making the rounds now...)

I am just happy NOT to be a campaign insider for any of these races, to be honest. There are some high quality candidates here, and somebody is gonna end up a loser, no matter how good they are. Kinda makes me reflect on all the statewide races where the Dem candidates were stinking up the joint--I NEVER want to return to those days again!

Laura

[Rich Hunt]

7. hooray!

That's my guy.

:toast:

[Norquist Nemesis]

8. Thanks for the info!

The more I learn about Obama, the more I like him. Since I don't take a subscription to a newspaper, I get most of my news from on-line sources and figured I need to spend some time this weekend doing some research for Mar 16.

I like the Obama ads too. :thumbsup:

[Walt Starr]

10. My wife and I were going to back Hull until we read the story

We're firmly behind Obama now.

[never cry wolf]

11. That's great

Obviously I will support ANY dem, but I love Obama. I think he truly is a rising star and has it all. He is very liberal and very sharp. If we ended up with Durbin and Obama as our Sens they'd make an AWESOME tag team!!

[chiburb]

12. Couldn't agree more!

And whoever the Dem candidate is, the or she will be riding some coattails into office!

[Poiuyt]

14. At first I thought it said Osama :)

I need better glasses

[Thaddeus]

15. Obama is a winner

Such reliable politicians are never three-deep in the senate, but especially after the tragic death of Paul Wellstone, we desperately need progressives like Obama in power. Illinois progressives unite!